


Astraphobia

by ChokolatteJedi



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Community: hp-drizzle, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Phobias, Prompt Fic, Thunder and Lightning, Time Skips, Weather
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-26
Updated: 2013-09-26
Packaged: 2018-01-07 10:09:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1118637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChokolatteJedi/pseuds/ChokolatteJedi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Parvati is afraid of thunderstorms, and now that she's at Hogwarts, that fear is about to cause trouble</p>
            </blockquote>





	Astraphobia

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the HP Drizzle fest, with the following prompt:
> 
> F6: "Character A is terrified of thunderstorms and demands character B comforts them/sleep next to them so they feel safer. Any femmeslash. Parvati/Lavender?"
> 
> Much thanks to my beta, Howl!

It was no secret that Parvati and Padma were not the closest of twins. It had been a shock, however, when they were sorted into different houses. Twins were rarely split up; Hermione only found three instances in _Hogwarts, A History_ , when Parvati asked her. Though it was true that they hadn't been that close in the last few years – Padma was more interested in reading, while Parvati was getting more interested in fashion and gossip – it was still a bit of a shock to not be in the same bedroom anymore.

However, while Parvati missed her sister, they still had some classes together, and she had new friends to hang out with, so she thought she was adjusting to the separation relatively well. Parvati realized her mistake when the first winter thunderstorm rolled in. She was studying in the library with Lavender when the first crash of thunder rang out over the castle. Most of the students jumped in surprise, so she was able to pass off her fearful reaction as shock. As the storm continued to rage, though, Lavender turned back to her books, but Parvati made her excuses and quickly packed her bags.

She was halfway to the Ravenclaw Common Room when she realized that Padma had never given her the password. Fortunately, right outside, she ran into one of their classmates, Anthony, who agreed to get her sister for her. If she hadn't been wearing Gryffindor colors, she was quite sure he would have simply let her enter with him, as she could tell from the way he eyed her that he couldn't tell her apart from her sister.

When Padma emerged, it was with sympathy in her eyes. She had comforted Parvati through thunderstorms all of their lives, holding her twin throughout the night when her fears got too bad. This was their first time sleeping in different rooms, however – and what was more, different towers – In the castle. Professor McGonnagall had been quite clear on the rules in their first week, which included sleeping every night in their own dorm. The professor had acknowledged that, unlike other students, the twins had reason to be in each other's rooms in moderation, as long as they didn't give out the dorm passwords. But she had been quite clear; they each needed to sleep in their own room at night.

It was a rule she had shoved to the back of her mind at the time, but now Parvati was kicking herself, regretting that she hadn't asked for a special exemption, or fought with the Sorting Hat when it split them up.

As Padma played with her hair, whispering soothing nothings, Parvati began to drift off. All too soon, however, her wand vibrated, alerting her to the approaching curfew. Thinking the calmest thoughts she could, Parvati accepted Padma's comforting hug and then returned to the Gryffindor Tower. If she hurried a little more each time the thunder rumbled, that was perfectly understandable, as curfew was coming soon. And if she tumbled through the portrait hole in the middle of a giant boom, well, that could be justified as stumbling on the lip.

Parvati spent the rest of the night huddled in her bed in the dark, cocooned in her blankets, hoping that the rain would go away.

It continued like that for two years. Storms during the day were slightly more tolerable, but she spent many sleepless nights during the winter shaking beneath her covers.

ooooo

It was November of her third year when Parvati's secret was finally revealed. She wasn't sure why Lavender was up so late, but when the other girl knocked gently on her bedpost a second before a large rumble, Parvati couldn't help but squeak. A moment later, Lavender pulled open her bed curtain, confusion and compassion on her face.

Parvati felt burning shame that her secret was finally discovered, that her child-like fear would now be the gossip of the school. To her great surprise, Lavender just crawled into her bed and wrapped her arms around the other girl. Parvati sank into the embrace, allowing the warm arms to sooth her ragged edges. She was trembling gently, and the shakes began to ease as Lavender's grip steadied her.

After a few minutes, Parvati managed to stop shaking. She assumed that Lavender would pull away then, returning to her own bed, but she never did. Instead, Lavender continued to hold her until Parvati finally faded into sleep. And for the first time since coming to Hogwarts, Parvati slept calmly thought the rest of the storm.

The next morning, she woke to the weak sunlight pouring through their windows, and found herself still bound by warm arms. Looking around, Parvati found Lavender tucked beneath her covers, her arms still tightly embracing her. Though she was torn between embarrassment and relief, Parvati didn't move, enjoying the comfort for as long as she could.

Lavender woke a few minutes later and smiled warmly at Parvati. "Good morning," she whispered.

"Good morning," Parvati replied. A dozen questions and protestations whipped through her mind, and finally she settled on the simplest, least incriminating thing she could think of. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Lavender frowned slightly. "Have you always been afraid? Have you been hiding it all this time?"

Parvati nodded miserably. "Padma used to keep me company, but she's not allowed out of the Ravenclaw Tower at night."

"But why didn't you say something?"

"I didn't want anyone to know," Parvati admitted. "What kind of thirteen year old is afraid of thunder?"

Lavender chuckled quietly. "My mom still hates thunder storms," she admitted. "She used to come into my room and pick me up at night and carry me to her room. I was never that afraid, but I liked spending those nights in the big bed, so I never complained. When I got older, I realized why she always brought me to her when it rained." Lavender shrugged. "She's gotten much better about it, and I think still having my little sister at home helps."

Parvati considered this for a moment. Her parents had always told her that her fear of thunder was just a weakness to be ignored or overcome. Padma had tolerated it and comforted her, but had always made it clear that this was something Parvati needed to get over. She had never heard of another person over the age of five who was afraid of thunderstorms, let alone an adult! It was a staggering concept. 

She was thinking so hard that she missed Lavender getting up and going into the bathroom. It wasn't until the other girl came back out and started to get dressed for the day that Parvati shook off her stupor. She hurried to wash her face and dress in her own uniform, still turning over Lavender's revelation in the back of her mind.

She continued to think about it off and on for the rest of the week until she came up with a - in her opinion - quite brilliant idea. Pretending to be studying more about Boggarts, she asked Hermione about fears. "Is there a list somewhere, of common fears?" she asked Hermione as the Gryffindors walked to the library one evening.

"I'm sure there is," Hermione replied quickly. "At least, a medical text would list those phobias which have been recognized as legitimate medical conditions."

As soon as they reached the library, Hermione asked Madam Pince about it, and she quickly retrieved a medimagic text for them. It had an alphabetical section, but also a cross reference, and it wasn't very hard for Parvati to find what she was looking for. Padma or Hermione could have probably found it in a few seconds, but Parvati was slowly accepting that she was not as intellectually inclined as they were.

Finally she found the page she was looking for:

_**Astraphobia** _

_Also known as astrapophobia, brontophobia, keraunophobia, or tonitrophobia. An abnormal fear of thunder and lightning, a type of specific phobia, and one of the most prevalent phobias. It is a treatable phobia that both humans and animals can develop._

Parvati spent a few minutes reading and rereading those lines. A real, recognized phobia. One of the most prevalent. Treatable. Those three ideas were revolutionary for Parvati. Those three sentences meant that she wasn't the only one, or a baby, or doomed forever to huddle beneath her blankets through every storm.

When the library closed for the night, Parvati checked the book out, and continued to reread the passage on astraphobia as she curled up in bed for the night. Lavender saw what she was doing, and smiled gently.

Two nights later, when the rain began to pound against the windows before bedtime, Lavender just smiled that smile again as both girls got into their pajamas. And then, like it was the most normal thing in the world, she climbed into Parvati's bed instead of her own, and held her closely as the thunder began.

ooooo

By the time they were in seventh year, Parvati had found her fear of thunderstorms shrinking. There were far more things to be afraid of in the Castle now, including their teachers, and so many years of Lavender's cheerful comfort had done wonders at acclimatizing and immunizing her to the storms. Still, every time it rained, Lavender would smile, and climb into her bed, and hold Parvati tightly.

Somehow, Parvati couldn't bring herself to give up those nights, no matter how comfortable she now was with the storms. And when one night comforting gave way to cuddling, she wasn't complaining. And when the next night, as the same storm continued to rage, cuddling gave way to kissing, she definitely wasn't going to complain. They didn't even have to be quiet, as Hermione wasn't there to overhear. That thought sobered Parvati for a moment, but Lavender soon reclaimed her attention.

If she had any free time not spent thinking about the war, Parvati would have made another trip to the library to look at that medimagic text from all those years ago. Instead, one lunch as the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors left the Great Hall at the same time, she quickly asked her sister if every phobia had an opposite.

Padma stared at her for a long moment before answering. "Well, though not exactly the opposite, the term -philia, or 'love of' is generally used with the same prefixes as -phobia, and sometimes held in contrast to it."

Parvati stared blankly at her sister. She did aright in classes, but sometimes when Padma or Hermione spoke Parvati felt like she was listening in the wrong language.

With a sigh, Padma clarified. "Hydrophobia is fear of water, and hydrophilia is love of it. As a general rule, switching out the suffixes -phobia and -philia is a good way to make an opposite."

"Okay, thanks," Parvati whispered as the two groups were forced to separate to go to their own classes.

That night, as the storm raged overhead and Lavender sucked passionately on Parvati's neck, she considered the conversation with her sister. Parvati wasn't sure she was an astraphiliac yet, but she was certainly getting there.


End file.
